The Witch Hunter's Tale Read Online Free PDF

me as we made our way through the city, heads bowed against the rain that the wind whipped into our faces. I said a prayer of thanks that George lived near me in one of the city’s northern wards, rather than across the river in Micklegate. Will and I weaved back and forth across the cobbled streets to avoid the puddles, most of which now had a thin layer of ice across the top. One misstep would mean a cold and unpleasant evening.
    When we arrived at George’s stately home, we found him hard at work on some business matter, but he put that aside and we retired to the parlor. He was perhaps fifteen years my senior—I would have put him at around fifty—and had the air of a man comfortable with the authority that God had given him. His clothes were of fine wool and like many who had stood by the King, he wore his hair to his collar. I sometimes wondered what would have happened if I’d married a man such as George rather than so weak a specimen as Phineas. But what use are such fantasies? As I settled into my chair I noticed the richness of the fabric. The poor were suffering from the wars, but George was doing well enough. We talked for a time of the news of the town, especially the rain and cold that fall had brought, before George suddenly turned our conversation to more serious matters.
    “Lady Bridget, I must speak to you of your nephew Joseph,” he said.
    “What is it?” I asked. “I have not seen him since Edward died.” I glanced at Will, unsure how much he had told George of our suspicions about Joseph’s true nature. The previous summer, a prisoner had died in York Castle. Though we could not prove it, we had good reason to think Joseph was behind the death.
    “I believe that Joseph soon will make another attempt to drive all manner of sin and sinners out of the city. Last summer it was drunkenness and fornication; now it is witchcraft. It is all of a piece.”
    “Will and I already discussed this,” I replied. “We shall have to be careful indeed.”
    “As soon as Hester Jackson was arrested, Joseph asked the Council to hire Rebecca Hooke as the Searcher,” George continued as if I had not spoken.
    I sighed impatiently. “Yes, yes,” I said. “We know all this.”
    “There is more,” he said. “I had hoped that you would be a part of our defense against Joseph’s scheme. I had hoped you would play a role in the hunt for witches.”
    “What do you mean?” I asked. I did not like where George’s fancy was taking him.
    “When Joseph proposed hiring Rebecca, I thwarted him by telling the Council that you had agreed to act as our Searcher in this and all other cases that might arise.”
    “You did what?” I cried. “You told them this without speaking with me first?”
    George seemed surprised by my anger.
    “I had no choice,” he complained. “I could not stand idly by and let Joseph Hodgson and Rebecca Hooke seize such power for themselves. If Hester Jackson is guilty, then let her be hanged. But Joseph and Rebecca have no interest in guilt or innocence, only in making the city their own. I thought my plan was quite brilliant. At least until I learned that you had chosen a woman in travail over the search of Hester Jackson’s body.”
    I heard a note of reproach in his voice, as if I had somehow betrayed him by going to a labor. I would have none of it.
    “You did not consult me beforehand, and you know I cannot abandon my clients.” I gave my anger free rein, for he had far overstepped his bounds. “I’ve done enough business with the city to expect such ill-treatment from most men, but I expect more from you. That kind of stupidity drives me mad.”
    George hung his head for a moment in a show of contrition before continuing as if I’d said nothing of consequence. “My fear is that they have more ambitious plans than the hanging of one old woman. I think they are conspiring against me and others who are not zealous enough for Parliament.”
    I nodded. “Again, that is no news.